Committees of residents in El-Fasher, including pro-democracy activists and civil society members, reported that RSF fighters launched drone attacks on the Dar al-Arqam camp located inside the university compound, though the RSF has denied the accusation.

Witnesses said there was chaos and panic as rescue workers pulled bodies from the rubble of collapsed buildings.

The Sudan Doctors Network announced that 57 people were killed in the drone strike, including 17 children, and another 17 were injured. Human rights groups, however, said the death toll could be as high as 60.

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Hospitals, already struggling with security issues and lack of medical supplies, have now been overwhelmed with casualties, forcing doctors to treat the wounded on the floor and in hallways.

The RSF has encircled El-Fasher for 17 months, seeking to capture the Sudanese army’s last major stronghold in the Darfur region. The pro-democracy resistance committee said the situation in El-Fasher “surpasses all levels of atrocity and barbarism.”

Sudan has been engulfed in war since 2023, when top commanders of the RSF and the national army turned on each other, igniting a brutal power struggle.

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Currently, the national army controls areas in the north and east, while El-Fasher remains the last major city in Darfur still under government control. The RSF controls most of Darfur and large parts of Kordofan.

In recent weeks, the RSF has intensified its attacks on El-Fasher, and experts warn the city could fall if the army does not receive urgent reinforcements.

The United Nations said that about 250,000 civilians are trapped inside El-Fasher and warned that the continued attacks on civilians could amount to war crimes.